Kodawarisan has gotten their mitts on a 21.5-inch iMac which they promptly unboxed and then took apart.

Redesigned from the inside out, Apple’s new iMac packs high performance technology into an aluminum and glass enclosure that measures just 5 mm thin at its edge and features a reengineered display that reduces reflection by 75 percent. The new iMac includes 8GB of 1600 MHz memory, a 1TB hard drive, third generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processors that can be upgraded to Core i7, and the latest NVIDIA GeForce graphics processors that deliver up to 60 percent faster performance. Fusion Drive is an innovative new storage option that gives customers the performance of flash and the capacity of a hard drive by combining 128GB of flash with a standard hard drive to create a single storage volume that intelligently manages files to optimize read and write performance.

ifixit rated the new 21-inch iMac 3 out of 10. The LCD is not attached by magnets, as were the previous models, but by adhesive. I can only hope that Apple continues to use magnets for the 27-inch iMac models.

The fundamental difference between Apple and everyone else (and it persists for decades, since the very first Macintosh): the inside of an Apple product is as meticulously and carefully designed as the outside. Just like a Ferrari…

I am certainly glad I am not the typical user. If it is true – I will suction cup in to that iMac and upgrade it myself. Initially I was concerned that it was soldered RAM like the MBA. Hopefully soon there will be some more verification of this model’s intricacies.

I’m not surprised about the SO-DIMMs as Apple have previously hinted that Apple Store staff will be able to upgrade the RAM for users. I just hope that in the second revision they add an access panel to the back of the unit. By that time I’ll be looking to upgrade my mid-2010 model, which will do me for a while longer yet.

It’s upgradable. It may not be easy for the end user to upgrade it, but it is upgradable.

The end user can decide if it’s worth the extra hundred bucks (vs. 16GB of aftermarket RAM) to have it upgraded to 16GB by Apple at the factory, have an Apple Authorized service centre perform the upgrade, or do it themselves.

If that means no sale, then no sale, but let’s get the facts straight.

I can’t help but see three problems for me with the new iMac.
There is no Mic input
There is no DVD
The size of the enclosure will obviously limit sound
These things are all of importance to me, and will require extra dongles, thus negating the reason for such thin edges. I would have preferred them a little thicker, as it makes no difference on a desktop. For these reasons alone, I’ll probably hang onto my old iMac. – Yes before you answer, I know you don’t need them, but plenty do.